1944 Gibson Banner J-45
Description
Superlative & scarce 1944 Banner J-45 in exceptionally fine condition, rare original maple body and neck with spruce top. Hands down the best J-45 I've had the pleasure of playing, no doubt owing to the maple. Rare for '44, this one's got a truss rod - that's never been turned. Hard to say which is cleaner, the guitar or it's original hard shell case. This one's got it all boys, as good as it gets for a J-45.
The maple back, sides and neck are unusual for Gibson, at least on flat tops. It's really only a few of their best known, top of the line models, like the J-200 ( other than the first 100, which were rosewood ) & Nick Lucas ( other than the less desirable versions ), that used maple for those components. Yup, just those. No others.
Oh yeah - except for all of the greatest Gibson archtops ever made, that is; the L-5, Super 400, Byrdland, Johnny Smith, Citation, & Trini Lopez ( kidding ). But wait - weren't the '20's F-5s made of the same materials, including nearly all of the Loars? Point is, some folks look down on the small number of original Banner J-45s that were maple, which must suck for them; for the same reasons and in the same ways as all of these other Gibson instruments that used these same materials, the maple J-45s are exceptional guitars.
You'll rarely find an early J-45 in this condition ( sorry about the reflections ), on top of the sound and playability of this one.
The maple back, sides and neck are unusual for Gibson, at least on flat tops. It's really only a few of their best known, top of the line models, like the J-200 ( other than the first 100, which were rosewood ) & Nick Lucas ( other than the less desirable versions ), that used maple for those components. Yup, just those. No others.
Oh yeah - except for all of the greatest Gibson archtops ever made, that is; the L-5, Super 400, Byrdland, Johnny Smith, Citation, & Trini Lopez ( kidding ). But wait - weren't the '20's F-5s made of the same materials, including nearly all of the Loars? Point is, some folks look down on the small number of original Banner J-45s that were maple, which must suck for them; for the same reasons and in the same ways as all of these other Gibson instruments that used these same materials, the maple J-45s are exceptional guitars.
You'll rarely find an early J-45 in this condition ( sorry about the reflections ), on top of the sound and playability of this one.